Garden Maintenance
“Gardens can look very untidy very quickly,” says Heidi Cornish, from Island Landscapes Ltd in Essex. “During winter there is a lot of clearing leaves and pruning trees and in spring and summer planting and mowing are needed,” she adds.Maintaining your garden can be a daunting task, so here are some tips on how to make sure your garden looks great all year round. Gardens Plants and Lawn Plants are often the heart of a garden and if maintained properly can brighten all year-round. Each plant needs specific care - flowering and fruiting plants usually need pruning in the late winter or early spring and plants which return year after year (perennials) need pruning and deadheading regularly. Similarly, if you grow your own fruit or have a vegetable patch, this will need maintaining according to what you choose to grow. The most simple advice is to know what’s growing in your garden and how and when to care for it. Lawns can require more maintenance then just mowing, especially if you are growing from seeds or have had turfing installed. In particularly dry weather you will need to water the lawn, however; “We’ve had so much cold weather this year, including snow and ice that the ground is saturated and waterlogged now, so it needs special attention,” points out Heidi. Tree Surgery Pruning, dead wooding and maintaining the shape of trees can be a difficult, time consuming and sometimes dangerous task, so hiring a tree surgeon is a good idea. Anna Gale, from Andrew Gale Tree Surgery Ltd, West Sussex says: “A good tree surgeon will be able to diagnose diseases and prune trees to ensure they stay healthy and look as natural as possible”. Decking,Patios and Paving Decking is usually made of wood, which needs to be repainted or re-stained every year or so. “Decking also needs cleaning once or twice a year with a mild detergent,” says David Robinson, from Up the Garden Path in Staffordshire. Patios and paving are normally made of stone and need regular brushing and weeding. If they become stained or excessively grimy, scrub with a soap and warm water mixture or even use a pressure washer. Sheds,Greenhouses and Outbuildings Make sure that sheds, greenhouses and other outbuildings are secured with locks to prevent thieves from breaking in. Wood structures may need regular weatherproofing and repairs if damaged in high winds or bad weather. Garden Furniture Garden furniture can deteriorate dramatically if left outside over a harsh winter, so think about storing it away in a shed or outbuilding. If you can’t manage this then cover securely with a waterproof covering. When spring comes around again garden furniture can be resurrected; clean with warm water or specialist products to have it looking like new. Fencing Depending on the material, fencing may need regular maintenance. Wooden fences are particularly susceptible to damage from wind and wet weather, so do a thorough check after winter, replacing and repairing any necessary fencing. Metal and uPVC fencing is more resilient but needs to be checked for rust or wind damage. Swimming Pools Swimming pools require extensive maintenance, although outdoor pools are more time consuming as you need to remove debris and leaves regularly. Lee Giles of J Lunnon Pools and Spas in East Sussex explains: “You need to test the pool water on a weekly basis and ensure filters are clear. On average this takes around an hour a week.” You must be sure that the P.H levels in your pool are around 7.5 and in winter partially drain, blow out pipes, apply antifreeze and cover. Hiring a Garden Maintence Company With some planning and commitment it’s perfectly possible to keep on top of garden maintenance on your own, but if you have a busy schedule or don’t want to spend your free time on gardening, there are plenty of maintenance companies who will do the job for you. Heidi says: “People choose to use a professional company for garden maintenance for convenience but also because the finished product will be a lot crisper – we won’t just mow the lawn for instance, we’ll strim the edges too.”